Mabel the Rescue Dog

Hi everyone, it’s Mabel! I realized that I haven’t talked about our most recent foster dog yet, which is very surprising because Molly says he’s her favorite so far. I’m pretty sure she has said that about at least two other dogs too, but I’m pretty sure she means it.

Sonny is our 14th foster dog, and he’s super shy. If you don’t already know, Molly has a soft spot for shy dogs because of her first dog Zoe, who was a puppy mill survivor. Sonny wasn’t from a puppy mill, but he spent the first two years of his life as a stray. So, despite being so young, he’s very scared and shy.

When Molly picked Sonny up from the rescue’s office, he was completely shut down. She said he was curled in a ball and frozen in place. He wouldn’t even move to sit in the bed next to him. He was rescued with a smaller dog named Cher, who was a little friendlier, but still shy and confused. Molly planned to foster both of them, but since they needed extra patience, the office suggested that she only take one of them at first.

So, Molly took Sonny home and he immediately ran into his crate. He spent the entire first day in his crate. Molly had to carry him outside to do his business, and somehow, he was already potty trained. As soon as she set him outside, he did his business, and then he rushed to go back inside. He was too scared to eat or drink for the first day too.

Then, after a day, Molly decided to foster Cher too. However, Cher only stayed with us for about an hour. At first, she was super sweet and a lot more curious than Sonny. She walked on a leash and played with toys, which are things Sonny still hasn’t wanted to do. Then, once Cher saw Sonny, she became so excited! She ran into his crate with him, and they both wagged their tails like crazy.

However, after about ten minutes together, Cher’s personality changed. She grew very protective over Sonny and would growl or nip at me and Molly if we tried to go near Sonny. Molly quickly realized that as much as Sonny and Cher loved each other, they would be better off in different foster homes. So, she took Cher to the office, where she found a different foster home.

It’s hard to tell if Sonny misses Cher or not, but he probably does. We’ve had him for almost two weeks now, and he’s still terrified of humans and spends most of his time in his crate. Yet, he’s made lots of progress. When Molly isn’t in the same room as him, he peeks around the corner to see what she’s doing. If Molly goes outside with me, Sonny will come outside if Molly props the door open. Then, he’ll go back inside after he does his business. He has also been eating and drinking normally every day.

I know Molly will be sad when Sonny leaves, but she’s working really hard to make sure he finds the perfect home. Some people have shown interest in him, but not everyone is willing to work with a super shy dog. He’ll need a lot of patience and space, so I’m excited for him to find a forever home where he can keep getting that. One day, I think he’ll be very loving, but it will take him a long time to learn to trust humans. Molly keeps saying he’s so sweet and that he just needs time to understand what love is like.

If you have a quiet, patient home, you should consider adopting or fostering a shy dog. Molly says that seeing their transformations is one of the most rewarding parts of fostering!

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